The Lagos State Governor Babájídé Sanwolu has described the former Head of Service Hakeem Muri-Okunola as an one who’s Leadership and administrative skills have contributed immensely to the growth and stability of the civil service over the years. He was speaking at the pull out ceremony held in his honour at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium on Tuesday in Alausa Ikeja Lagos.
The event featured a host of guests and well wishers from across various parts of Lagos including the board of permanent secretaries, commissioners, royal fathers, as well as families and friends of the former HOS Hakeem Muri-Okunola who voluntarily retired from service to resume office as Principal Private Secretary to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The parade featured Officers of the Lagos Fire and Rescue Service , Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Lagos Vehicle Inspection Service, Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (KAI) and the Nigeria Police Band (Lagos Command) all decked in their ceremonial uniforms in colorful display.
The current Head of Service Head of service Bode Agoro in his opening remarks described the achievements of the former HOS as one that would be remembered in years to come. Many who spoke at the event shared from their personal encounters with him at both official or social levels highlighting a personality truly admired and loved by all who worked closely with him.
In his farewell speech, he expressed gratitude for the opportunity to have served and worked closely with the Governor commending the state government for providing a conducive atmosphere him to thrive pledging his support to the state.
Highlights of the ceremony were the official pull out of the former HOS by permanent secretaries, para military, Lagos agencies and the Nigerian police.
About Hakeem Muri-Okunola
Hakeem Muri-Okunola (born 7 January 1972) is a Nigerian lawyer, public administrator, technocrat and current Lagos State Head of Service. He is the first son of the late respected Justice Muritala Okunola.
After his primary education in Lagos Island where he grew up, a young Muri-Okunola became a student of the Nigeria Navy Secondary School, Lagos in 1982. By 1989, he had become an undergraduate of the Lagos State University, Ojo, graduating in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in Law, following which he completed the mandatory one year of study at the Nigeria Law School.
Three years on, he gained admission into the prestigious Queen Mary & Westfield College, University of London, obtaining a master’s degree in International Business Law in 1999.
Between 1996-1999, he served as an Associate Solicitor with Adepetun, Caxton-Martins and Agbor, before joining Company Secretary/Legal Adviser at Ibile Holdings Limited, the Investment Company of Lagos State Government, a position he held from 2000 to 2003. Muri-Okunola joined the Lagos state civil service in 2001.
Between 2003 2005, he was personal assistant to Bola Tinubu, then governor of Lagos until Tinubu appointed him Executive Secretary to the Governor, Land Use and Allocation Committee. Afterwards, he was promoted to the position of Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Public Service in 2011.
He was deployed to the Lands Bureau in the Governor’s Office where he supervised the State’s Lands Administration machinery.[4] In this capacity, he played significant roles in improving the state’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. These include the Electronic Certificate of Occupancy (E-C of O), the Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) and the 30-day processing of consent applications.
In 2015, he was named Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, working on the amended version of the Child’s Rights Law and the Child Protection Policy among other things. During this period, he was also on the board of the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA). Muri-Okunola was appointed Head of Service on 28 December 2018,[7][8] being the most senior ranking member of the Body of Permanent Secretaries in Lagos State.
